Does anyone know roughly how much a 6-month, 12-1X tourist visa for Ecuador should cost?

I just got a 12-1X visa for myself, and two dependent visas for my husband and child, from the Consulate in Sydney. The Consulate staff told me my visa cost $368 Australian dollars (which is about $380 US dollars) and that each dependent visa would cost I think $AU120. When they gave us back our passports though, on the visas it says I only paid $200 US dollars for mine, and $50 for each dependent visa. In other words, on the visas it says I paid $US 300 all up, when I actually paid about $US 640.

When I queried it, the Consulate staff told me it was because they have their own 'internal exchange rate', of $1.6 US dollars to $1 Australian dollar. The actual exchange rate is about $1.03 US to $1 Australian dollar.

I thought that all sounded a little suspicious, but surely the Consulate is reputable? Have I been ripped off? If so is there anything I can do about it?

The visa costs 200usd for you and 50usd each for dependents. As to whether they are allowed to use their own exchange rate, you would need to check the law in your own country. It would be legal for them to do it in the UK.

However, even the exchange rate doesn't account for the difference, if you have paid double and the rate is 1.6. Did you get a receipt for what you actually paid?

Bear in mind that nothing in Ecuador is reputable, especially in situations where money changes hands.

The cost of the 12-IX visa is $200 plus a processing fee of $30. Dependent visas are $50 dollars. So unfortunately it looks like you did get ripped off. As stated earlier, this is pretty typical in dealing with Ecuadorian bureaucracy. But to be honest, I have never seen that happen with the 12-IX before. "Mailing" the receipt sounds pretty fishy too. At this point I would probably let sleeping dogs lie, as if you push it, these folks have the right to revoke the visa.